Love Blind
by Tantastic
Summary: A shy and reserved Miku finally emotionally opens up to someone and is rejected more than she can handle, sending her spiraling back into her shell once more. Can Luka save her? Luka x Miku. Rated K. Negitoro. Romance, Drama and Hurt.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One**

Miku had awoken from another uneasy sleep, feeling somehow well rested, but not ready to face yet another day of being pushed into lockers, tripped, slandered, and ignored. She'd always been left out and somewhat bullied at school when her classmates had found out she liked girls. She wasn't even sure of the fact herself, she just happened to be caught one time staring a little too intensely at a beautiful pink haired woman she saw whilst on a school trip. Ever since that day, people had avoided her like a trailing stench. Even though she was treated poorly at school, her mother had raised her to be a good girl. A model student with top grades, a girl who respected her seniors, a girl who wouldn't think twice about helping someone in need, a girl who put other people before herself no matter what.

At least, that was before the divorce, before her father left...

After an endless cycle of legal documents, violent arguments (or as Miku's parents called it 'just talking'), sleepless nights and several empty wine bottles, her mother stopped caring. Although she had a funny way of showing it, Miku knew she still loved her daughter, but she stopped taking an interest in her personal life. Even under those circumstances, her mother was still quite strict. She wasn't allowed a phone, didn't own any form of electronic entertainment system and wasn't allowed friends round. Miku wondered if her mother thought she would attempt to contact her father, or because she didn't want her friends to see the state her mother was usually in; either passed out drunk or angry and yelling. She wouldn't know and daren't ask. As a result, they no longer had a mother-daughter bond that they once shared so Miku was not only secluded at school but she also felt lonely in her own home.

Miku reluctantly heaved herself out of bed and clothed herself in her pristinely clean and ironed uniform before going downstairs to nibble on some toast. She never was a big eater, and it was quite lucky as the cupboards never seemed to be full these days.

The house was eerily silent, only raindrops could be heard as they tapped against the windows of the house. When her mother wasn't unconscious from excessive drinking, she left early in the mornings and worked long hours; not because she needed to, but because she didn't want to be at home, reminded of her broken family.

The tealette finished her measly breakfast and picked up her school bag before heading out the door, grabbing an umbrella on the way out.

 **XXXXXXXXXX**

Luka had left her apartment a little earlier than usual to head for Crypton University. She usually left around 8:30am to arrive on time for a 9:00am start, however, this morning she had her paper due and didn't want to risk it being handed in as a late submission.

The forecasted weather for warm temperatures and clear sunny skies contrasted to what the window wipers of her car had to say. She had stopped at a red light and huffed at the gloomy weather and the annoyingly repetitive squeaking as the wipers moved back and forth. As the world outside was blurred by the heavy raindrops, she laid her arms across the top of the steering wheel with her chin resting on top. She let her eyes become entranced with the simple movements, her crystal blue eyes dancing with them like an audience at a tennis match.

In impatience, she peered past the two cars ahead of her to see how much longer she'd have to wait, when she noticed an old lady with a shopping bag making her way across the crossing. She was silently scolding the woman for not bringing an umbrella, even though she was well protected by a long raincoat. Her eyes suddenly grew wide in worry as she watched the woman trip over her own shuffling feet; she appeared to fall in slow motion. Luka couldn't help but gasp as the woman landed on her hands and knees with a toe-curling thud. Her groceries scattered across the road and she struggled to get herself to her feet as if her joints wouldn't allow it.

Luka instantly unbuckled herself from the car to aid the old woman but as she reached for the handle a flash of bright teal caught her attention. Propping herself up in her seat to see further ahead she noticed a schoolgirl had kindheartedly and courteously grabbed the old woman by her hands and pulled her up almost as quickly as she fell down. The young girl immediately handed over her own umbrella as she spun on her heel to gather all the bits and pieces that belonged in the bag. By this time, the lights had turned green and the girl ignored the angry honking of car horns as she scurried all over the road. The tealette completely disregarded her surroundings and irritated drivers as she led the woman to safety on the other side of the road. The elderly woman bowed to the schoolgirl and they continued on, walking side by side.

Luka could see that the girl was taking tediously slow steps so as not to rush her senior companion. ' _What a thoughtful girl'_ she thought, ' _It's not often someone her age would do something so selfless'_.

Luka couldn't help but smile to herself, this girl, gave up her time and umbrella to help a stranger and was getting soaked and dirty in the process. In addition to the girls misfortune, she knew she would get nothing in return and was simply doing it not only because it was the right thing to do, but out of the kindness of her own heart. Blue eyes were fixated on her long teal twin-tails as they heavily hung from the girl's delicate frame. Her eyes wandered down to her exposed legs; they were slim, yet so plump and adult like. She subconsciously licked her lips, watching the girls back until they duo disappeared around the corner when she was startled back to reality by honking horns behind her, signalling that the light had turned green.

 **Continued in Ch. 2**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Miku arrived at school soaked to the skin and trembling. She followed her usual path to her first class in art, praying that today would be better than yesterday, even though it wasn't off to a great start. Although, that didn't mean to say she'd regretted helping a person in need.

The bell rang and she took her seat on a square table that she shared with the people who were as close to friends as she had; Gumi and Rin. Miku liked the pair a lot and found them rather pleasant, but she felt like they were only polite to her out of pity. They were the only ones who spoke nicely to her at school, along with Rin's twin Len and his friend Kaito who were in another class.

"Geez! Miku-chan! You're drenched!" Gumi exclaimed.

"Did'ya forget how to open your umbrella, huh?" Rin teased her and Miku chuckled despite herself,

"Of course not Rin-chan, someone else just needed it more than me..."

Rin and Gumi hummed in acceptance, they knew Miku was a girl of few words. She didn't speak up, only said what was necessary and was content with just listening in on her friends chattering.

Art class wasn't boring per se; it's just that Miku preferred the other form of arts, such as music and dance. Resting her head on her palm and the elbow on the table, she listened to her teacher as he described something about using layers of paint to create texture. Mr. Ayate wasn't the nicest of teachers and he definitely didn't make things easier to learn.

Shivering in her seat, Miku rubbed her bare arms in a futile attempt to rid herself of her goosebumps. She was about to continue with her painting project when her mind alerted her of a rising issue. She gulped and her heart felt like it sank to her stomach in fear.

An uncomfortable and recognizable feeling hit her abdomen and she groaned quietly to herself, careful not to alert the class or her friends to her developing problem. She panicked in silence, realizing that the distinctive pain could only mean she had started her period 2 days early.

Her eyes flickered between the clock and the teacher; it read that there was over 30 minutes of class left. She had to get to the bathroom to sort herself out, and quick. This dull ache was escalating rather rapidly and she absolutely did not want the entire class to know about this.

Mr. Ayate observed a shaky hand slowly reaching upwards, signalling the need for his attention,

He released a breathy groan, "What is it Hatsune-san?" his strict voice indicating his annoyance for the disruption.

"M-May I be excused for a moment?" she politely replied, a little taken aback at his unnecessary tone.

He narrowed his bushy grey eyebrows, "What on earth for?".

' _How many things could I possibly need to leave class for_?' Miku internally sighed.

"I need to use the restroom...please..." she fidgeted in her seat, eager to leave.

"No. You may not. There's not long left. Deal with it until then!" he bluntly snapped back.

"Please, sir...I-"

"QUIET!" he yelled and Miku shrunk back into her seat like a tortoise hiding in its shell. She could hear the quiet snickering of the class, all laughing at the scolding she'd received after an innocent request.

' _What am I gonna do now!?'_

Miku closed her eyes and breathed deeply in and out, trying with all her might not to visibly panic in front of everyone. _'Maybe...it'll be ok..._ ' she tried reassuring herself, ' _Maybe, just maybe...I'll make it to the end and it'll all be fine...'_

...And then the poor tealette felt the distinctive warm trickling from between her legs and she looked down in horror to see that her blue school skirt was now stained with blood. Her mouth suddenly dried up and her chest felt tight. She gasped and felt a warm sting prick her eyes as her vision quickly blurred with tears.

 **XXXXXXXXXX**

Gumi and Rin searched around school for their friend without any luck. Usually when Miku was in distress she would _always_ be in the music room, playing the piano and singing her worries away. But this time, it was worse than before. This time, a little music couldn't help the poor girl.

They eventually decided to search the school roof when they heard heavy sobs coming from a nearby bathroom. Gumi cautiously pushed the door open to see that Miku, with all her failing efforts, was viciously trying to rub red paint stains out of her school uniform, with some wet paper towels. All she managed to do was smear the paint and make it look worse.

"Miku-chan...it's not that bad..." Rin spoke softly as she approached the teal-haired girl, eyes flickering between the red stain on her skirt and the red stain on her shirt.

"W-wasn't th-that bad!?" she asked rhetorically with a slight tone of anger wavering in her sobbing voice, "they all s-saw wh-what I did" she wailed, and heavy tears streamed down her red puffy cheeks.

Miku turned back to the mirror and hopelessly continued to clean herself up.

"It happens to all girls at some point Miku-chan" Gumi tried her very best to cheer her friend up but she was having none of it.

"No they don't Gumi! I'm dirty and disgusting and-"

"Don't say that!" Rin interrupted, her voice louder that she'd intended and it echoed through the long bathroom. Though, it did suddenly bring Miku's teary rant to a halt. She continued,

"Periods are normal Miku, it's happened to me before too. I didn't realize I was on my period on the bus and stained the seat. I mean, sure it was real embarrassing but there was nothing I could do and I got over it".

"But did anyone shout at you for it? Did anyone mock you? Laugh at you? Sneer, turn their nose up and ridicule you!?", she angrily pointed to her own filthy shirt with a wobbly index, "did they do this to you!?".

The tealette, in her emotional distress, was inconsolable and her friends fell silent.

"Thought not..." she muttered.

 **Continued in Ch. 3**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

 **Chapter 3**

After finishing studying earlier than anticipated, Luka left for home during the school traffic at 3pm and soon regretted it. She hated having to wait for long periods of times; she wasn't a very patient person. If she had someone to talk to, then maybe she wouldn't mind. The weather was no different than what it was when she left that morning and she once again found herself fascinated with the window wipers when she reached a red light. She was woken from her day-dream by a wave of Déjà Vu and suddenly remembered she was at the very same set of traffic lights that had stopped her earlier that day. This realization provoked her to remember about the pleasant teal haired school girl that had helped the old woman. She smiled to herself at the memory. Luka kept the moment living on in her head, having the scene play and replay over and over. The more she thought about it, the more she thought she recognized the girl, but for the life of her couldn't remember exactly where. It baffled the pinkette as she herself was shocked that she may have temporarily forgotten having seen such a cute girl before.

The rest of her journey consisted of attempting to place the tealette somewhere where she may have encountered her before but each time she thought of her, she became dangerously distracted just having her face pop into her mind like a beautiful ray of sunshine on this drizzly day.

Eventually the traffic dissipated and she turned that last corner into the car park of her apartment. As she approached the bend in the road her attention was caught by the same bright teal that she was intrigued by. Upon closer inspection, the girl was soon identified as the very same girl Luka was just thinking about and she was unfortunately still soaking wet (presumably from her morning detour) even though she had her umbrella up. Her once clean white top was now smeared in a bright red substance that Luka concluded to be paint and the forearm that held up the umbrella was tainted with a large and dark purple bruising that spread all around her right wrist. It was easily visible as it stood out from her smooth pale skin.

 _'_ _Why is such a sweet girl in such a state'_ the pinkette couldn't help but wonder whilst locking her car. She had intended on greeting the familiar girl but just as quickly as she appeared, she turned up the steps of one of the houses opposite the apartment building and swiftly entered. As she slowly closed the door shut she looked up and made brief eye contact with a pink haired woman across the road.

Luka was taken aback and a lump formed in her throat, she was met by sore and wet teal orbs that pierced her soul. Luka gently smiled at her, silently offering her concern and she received a half hearted and forced but kind smile in response before the door was calmly shut.

In that moment, an epiphany occurred to her. Luka had just placed her confusion over the tealettes identification. She remained still, staring at the door that seemed to shut her out. ' _So that's where I've seen her before'_ she mentally face-palmed herself.

"How did I not know such a beautiful girl was my neighbour?" she stood in thought, wondering why such a lovely girl looked so distraught.

"Yo! Lookaaa!" a slurred yell echoed through the street and the pinkette turned to see Lily hauling a drunk Meiko over her shoulders whilst the brunette struggled for balance. Meiko was slightly taller –and heavier- than Lily and this made carrying the limp Meiko problematic. Her tiptoes slightly scraped the floor as her ankles rolled around trying to fight the direction of gravity.

"Gimme a hand 'ere would'ya?" the blonde called out to her neighbour and friend. Luka rolled her eyes,

"It's 3:30 Meiko-san, why are you drunk at this hour? And right after our classes!", she scolded, but the woman was beyond reasoning. Nevertheless, Luka took Meiko's free arm and the two girls heaved their burdensome passenger up 3 flights of stairs into Lily's apartment across the hall from Luka's.

They spent the evening with idle chit-chat and a not so pleasant 'discussion' with who would be responsible for looking after drunken Meiko that night after the comatozed brunette lay face-down on Lily's couch. The 'discussion' was soon settled upon a game of rock-paper-scissors that Lily so insistently wanted to play as a solution. Luka felt relieved that she had luck on her side when won fairly 2/3, so she took her leave and returned home, eager to get a good night sleep after finishing her assignments she handed in earlier that day.

As soon as her head hit her feather filled pillow, she was swept away by wondrous dreams filled with pink and teal.

 **Continued in Ch. 4**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

It was finally Friday, and Luka thanked the stars for that as she had worked tirelessly so she wouldn't have any work to do over half-term. She'd also only had a half day and decided to spend the afternoon in town with a fully conscious (and sober) Meiko, who was actually supposed to be studying as she was behind on work, and Lily, who should have been doing anything but slacking off. She didn't work and she dropped out of higher education. Luka sometimes wondered where she got her money from, it made her a tad envious considering she seemed to live just as well as Luka did herself, yet she was in debt with Student Loans and relied on money she had saved and worked for.

The trio had been in all the shops that Meiko had wanted to go to, as she was quite the money waster. Luka, on the other hand, was wise with her money and refused to spend anything when she really didn't need to. After all, she was happy just window shopping.

"Hey Meiko, isn't that that Kaito boy over there you have a little crush on? " Lily elbowed the brunette in the ribs, forcing her to grunt.

"You like Kaito-san?" Luka asked with a single brow raised.

"No, of course not, he just...looks like a fun guy is all..." she'd hoped that they'd take the bait but she was as transparent as a glass wall.

Lily snorted, "Yeah fun in bed, you mean!"

"Shut up! He's coming over!" Meiko hissed back.

"Good afternoon ladies" he politely addressed the small group,

"Care to join us?" he pointed behind to his group of rowdy friends, they didn't seem like the type Luka would like to accompany. Not only because of their apparent need for attention, but because of the entire groups gender.

"Uhm, well, we were actually spending time together, y'know?" Meiko politely replied.

Their hollow chatting disinterested Luka and her eyes wondered over to a delightful looking cafe. Albeit, it was small and crowded but somehow, it looked enticing. Her eyes scoured the building and she peered through the window from a distance. _Teal_.

Her eyes were drawn to the uniquely bright colour and to her delight, she recognized the girl sitting in a booth alone. She just so happened to be the cute neighbour that she seemed drawn to.

"Luka-san? Luka...?"

She was brought out of her own little world by Meiko's over enthusiastic voice.

"Are you coming Luka? We're going to the bar, maybe if you socialize this time you _might_ leave with a handsome fella this time!" Lily sleazily grinned knowing full well the kind of response she'd receive.

Luka grimaced and clicked her tongue, "You know my preferences Lily" she berated the blonde.

"Well then...what about a gorgeous woman with huge ti-", before Lily could finish she was cut short with a menacing glare, instantly flashing an unpleasant memory in her mind; she remembered what happened last time she hooked Luka up with a woman without her permission- a punishment involving an agonisingly long lecture, a hard board and sore knees on Lily's part. The blonde sheepishly grinned scratching her cheek in defeat. Luka thought she would receive an apology but instead; "I forgot you like 'em like an ironing board" she chuckled, finding herself rather funny.

Luka didn't need to think twice about where her heart was telling her to go; "Ah, thank you but I think I'll pass" she smiled apologetically towards Meiko, completely ignoring the blonde's last remark. She didn't hesitate in waving goodbye to her friends before making her way into the cafe.

 **XXXXXXXXXX**

Miku had skipped the last class of school, on the last day before summer half-term she'd endured yet another day of mocking and she didn't have the courage to go back to the art class where she was assaulted with cruel words and paint. Instead, she spent her afternoon in her regular cafe, drinking her favourite hot chocolate all the while enjoying her own company and reading an expensive book on music that she had saved up for.

Even though her eyes followed the words that flowed into paragraphs her mind wondered elsewhere, constantly reminding her of the merciless names that were thrown her way.

 _'_ _Freak'_

 _'_ _Filthy bitch'_

 _'_ _Attention seeker'._

 _'_ _Dirty slag'_

Those were some of the mild insults. Her mind whirled around in the same torturous circle, causing her to have to forcefully concentrate too hard on the book and re-read the same page over and over. As she finally reached for the paper, intending to start from a fresh page, her teal eyes instantly locked onto the painful, dark bruising of her right wrist.

After Rin and Gumi had been sent away from the bathroom from an emotional Miku, she'd been ambushed by a group of boys waiting outside. They grabbed her by the wrist and threw her to the wall where they restrained her with a death grip; hands above her head. In addition to the cruel and unjustified treatment, they spat jokes in her face and made her beg them to leave.

 _'_ _Why are people so mean? What have I done? Do I really deserve this?'_

A slight stinging sensation filled her nose as her eyes filled with warm tears that blurred her vision and the lines on the pages became nothing but black squiggles.

"Must be an interesting book, hm?"

A beautiful, serene voice woke her from her own brutal thoughts and she shook her head to rid herself of the haze. She looked up and held her breathe. It was her neighbour, she'd only noticed her a couple of days ago but seeing her up close, she felt her heart flutter. Miku struggled to articulate a response and instead wiped away her growing tears, not noticing she impolitely disregarded the woman's question.

Luka decided to brush it off, because whatever the reason, she knew her tears weren't caused by a music book. She kindly let it slide knowing the young girl may not want to discuss such a thing with a stranger.

"May I sit? This cafe is small but business sure is bustling" the pinkette offered a wonderful smile, unlike anything Miku had ever seen before. She was in awe at how refined and gorgeous yet soft features this woman had. It was like the sun had frazzled away black clouds on a gloomy day and shone its rays on her, and her only.

Realizing she had been rudely staring and left the woman standing she panicked.

"Oh! O-of course! P-please sit!" she stammered. Miku was understandingly shy around people but she'd never severely stammered when speaking to anyone as much as this person made her. She made her feel uneasy, yet, warm inside at the same time. Miku respectfully put her book away in her bag and sipped at her hot beverage.

"Thank you" Luka smiled again and planted her coffee on the table between them.

"My name is Megurine Luka", she offered her hand for the tealette to shake.

"...Hatsune Miku..." she politely took her hand and was surprised by how soft and silky smooth her skin was. It reminded her of the satisfying feeling when you run your hand through sand. She revelled in it. For the first time in a long time, she received a pleasant feeling from the physical contact of another human being. For once, this contact did not result in her physical discomfort. It was so unlike the feeling of a fist to the stomach, or even a hand to the wrist. It almost shocked the tealette that she had rarely experienced such gentle handling before.

Luka marvelled at how delicately Miku shook her hand, how soft she was to touch, she couldn't help but wonder if all of her felt the same...

"Dry those eyes sunshine, you're much more beautiful with a smile gracing your face" Luka nonchalantly commented, earning herself a flustered blush.

Miku didn't know how to react. _No-one_ had _ever_ complimented her like that. No-one had ever called her anything close to beautiful. No-one was ever this kind to her, let alone a complete stranger. Her tinted face didn't pass unnoticed by her table guest,

"You're even more adorable when you look like that too" the pinkette giggled.

Miku gulped.

"I...er...uhm...thank you...but I don't think so..." she responded with her head held low, slightly shaking in disagreement.

Luka couldn't believe, that this girl sat before her, the girl she'd watch act so kindly and respectful towards a person in need, had such a low opinion of herself. It just didn't sit right with her. And to top that off, she couldn't take a compliment. This only told her that she didn't receive them enough and wanted to be the one to shower her with nice thoughts.

Luka leaned across the table to close some distance between them,

"Well... _I_ think you do Hatsune-san".

The tealette looked up and gave her a sincere smile. Just a few words from this woman and she'd given her butterflies. She hadn't met anyone as polite as Luka, but unlike her friends at school, she didn't feel like she was being pitied. Luka didn't make her feel like she was obliged to be nice or even try to make Miku feel good...she just did.

"Please, call me Miku" another smile grew, a little wider than the last.

"Ah, much better...Miku".

Luka felt better that she'd seen this beautiful girl smile, that she was the reason she was smiling now. She'd only ever seen her face red from crying so she decided that Miku's smile was the most wonderful thing she'd ever seen.

"Y-you too...have a..." Miku trailed off, mumbling inaudibly.

"I'm sorry? What was that Miku?".

"Ah, um...I said...you also...have a wonderful...smile...".

Luka's heart pounded heavily at her words but it felt light and fluttery at the same time. Sure, she'd gotten a lot of unwanted attention from men and been thrown the odd genuine compliment here and there, but absolutely none of them could compare to the way those words made her feel.

As their conversation flowed over the next hour, Luka found herself further drawn in to the young teal haired girl.

She'd smile every time she smiled, laugh every time she laughed.

She scrutinized her alluring features. Oh how she adored her long, black eyelashes fluttering away as she nervously spoke, her big beautiful, gleaming, teal eyes radiating her beauty, her soft, supple lips that looked so kissable, her delicate little fingers that were begging to be held. Every now and then when someone walked past, they brushed along in the air the scent of Miku and Luka indulged in it. The strong –yet not overpowering- smell of berries was one she would not want to forget so soon.

However, there was something standing out from the rest of Miku's body that Luka just couldn't keep her eyes from sneakily inspecting; the dark bruising on the girls wrist. She swore she could make out the markings of fingers, as if she'd been grabbed and handled inappropriately but she didn't want to jump to awful conclusion. The pinkette knew she shouldn't pry, but it was immensely bothering her. Such a large, deep and fairly evenly rounded bruise could not have accidentally been made by oneself.

"Um, Miku...if you don't mind my asking..." Luka began rather cautiously, and she met with Miku's quizzical but anxious eyes.

"How did you get that bruising? It looks rather deep?" her eyebrows furrowed with concern but her face remained gentle.

Miku was caught off-guard at the sudden question. She herself had forgotten about the mark after becoming so entranced with the engaging conversation. She didn't really want to tell the older woman, but she didn't want to leave her feeling like she wish she hadn't asked. She paused for a moment before replying as neutral as possible, "Ah, well... we were rock climbing in P.E class and my foot slipped, you see..." she looked up and noticed that her acquaintance seemed unconvinced but nevertheless she carried on, "My foot slipped and my friend grabbed my arm to stop me from falling..."

Luka knew that Miku was lying. For one, it was just so obvious from here tone of voice and expressions. Second, it just seemed so forced and thirdly, there were so many holes in her story that screamed 'lie'. For instance, Luka was well aware that safety precautions meant that students had to wear safety lines specifically designed to stop someone from falling. She understood the tealette obviously wasn't ready to share her story and let it be before changing the topic after taking note of the younger girl's discomfort.

 **XXXXXXXXXX**

Considering how nervous the older woman made her feel, Miku spoke as if she'd been great friends with the woman for years. There was something about her that was unlike anyone else. It made her feel safe and warm inside.

She couldn't help but notice that every time Luka spoke to her, it was like she was singing. She was so entrancing, so charming. She was captivated by her big, piercing blue eyes that were so gentle and often became self-aware multiple times that she was becoming lost in them like the calm ocean.

Miku smiled and laughed and smiled again. She couldn't remember the last time she felt this happy. She couldn't remember the last time she truly forgot about the hateful world around her. She loved it. She never wanted it to end.

"So with summer vacation already here, do you have anything planned? Going out with friends? Going abroad?" Luka inquisitively asked, in truth, she just wanted to know if the tealette was free anytime soon.

She put a finger to her mouth and looked up into the blankness of the ceiling and Luka had to keep herself in check to stop herself from squealing at how cute Miku looked.

"Um, no. I'm not going anywhere. I don't really have anything specifically planned I guess?".

"Great! Then how about we meet up like this again sometime soon? I'd love to stay and chat but I have cleaning to do" Luka sighed, truly not wanting this meeting to ever end.

Miku was shocked. She was shocked that this elegant beauty wanted to sit and talk with her the first time but to want a round two? It was simply unbelievable.

"A-are you sure?" Miku stuttered incredulously.

Luka furrowed her brows, unsure of why the girl had to ask.

"Of course cutie, do you have a number so I can get a hold of you?" Luka held her phone out for Miku to put in her number and waited expectantly.

Miku's heart couldn't beat any harder; it might just beat its way out of her ribcage. But reality soon brought her back to the face the sad truth. Miku didn't own a phone, she wasn't allowed.

"I'm very sorry Luka...I don't own a phone"

Luka pulled back her arm with a slightly surprised expression. It was rather unusual for a teenager in this day and age to not have a mobile.

"Ok, how about we meet up in the park over the road on Sunday, say around 1 o'clock?" the pinkette offered and Miku's face lit up like a shining diamond.

"Of course, yes!" the young woman beamed, unable to contain her excitement.

"Great, I'll see you then. Oh! Don't forget to keep smiling, you look wonderful when you do" Luka whispered in her ear.

Warm breathe tickled Miku's ear ad neck, before she turned to reply Luka was gone. Turning back to the now eerily quiet table, she noticed that Luka had not taken even a sip of her coffee.

 **Continued in Ch.5**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

The young tealette practically skipped home in unusually high spirits. When was the last time she felt this happy? Giddy, even. The delighted aura around her quickly dissipated as soon as she approached the front door of her home. She glanced at her wristwatch; 6:57pm. Her eyes grew wide with panic, how long had she been talking to Luka? Had she really enjoyed her company that much she lost track of hours of her time?

All she could hear was her heartbeat pounding in her ears. She gulped, although her mouth was dry. Her hand uneasily opened the door and reluctantly stepped inside, attempting to mentally and physically brace herself for the storm that was about to hit her.

First came the stomping as heavy feet pounded down the stairs, second came the slurred yelling and thirdly, came the sadly expected strike across the face ashand met cheek. A strong stinging sensation rippled through her supple young skin and the flesh now tainted with red fingerprints was immediately covered by Miku's shaking hand. She'd been struck so hard she stumbled backwards into the door. Her watering eyes remained locked to her shuffling feet, not daring to make direct eye contact.

"W-wort time d'ya call this Mi-miku?! Where w-were ya? You're n'hour after ya curfew, I was worried s-sick! Stupid girl!".

Her mother was so obviously drunk but Miku had seen her like this way too many times to argue with her and routinely accepted whatever it was her mother gave her. She'd learnt from previous mistakes the consequences of verbally retaliating.

"I'm...I'm s-sorry mother...I..." her voice wavered and a lump formed in her throat, but she didn't know whether it was because her face stung like mad or because she was genuinely scared of what was going to happen next.

Her mother continued to fiercely stare at her expectantly but once she saw that her child was on the verge of tears, her personality drastically changed.

"Ooh, n'ver mind, swee'heart, jus' c'mere" she stumbled towards Miku and grabbed her by the shoulders, pulling her into an unwanted hug, although she was oblivious to the fact her daughter despised the contact.

The tealette knew that it was the alcohol that caused the sudden mood swings, because even though she was strict when she was sober and clear-minded, she never laid a hand on her until she was under the influence...which unfortunately, was not uncommon.

"I won't be late again...I-I promise" she whispered, barely inaudible. She knew that at any moment she would break down. She couldn't handle this emotional trauma. Her drinking was becoming far too frequent and Miku always got the backlash from it. It just wasn't fair. She gently pried herself out of her mother's grip and wobbled towards the stairs, still covering her sore cheek as if caressing it eased the pain.

"I ha-have a lot of homework t-to do now, I'll be going to bed afterwards. G-goodnight..." she somehow managed a slight smile which her mother turned away from, "F-fine, y'got no dinner n'yway..." she spat before entering the living room, disappearing from sight.

Her mood had turned once again and Miku bolted to her room to avoid any repercussions. In truth, she had no homework, it was summer half term now, but she'd use any excuse she could to get away. She threw herself onto her bed, laying in the foetal position and sobbed her heart out. She knew she had to be quiet because she didn't want the woman downstairs to get angry with her loud bawling, so the tealette silently cried into her pillow until there were no more tears left to shed, and she soon fell asleep when exhaustion had gotten the better of her body.

 **XXXXXXXXXX**

"So where'd'ya run off to earlier then?" Lily questioned as she nonchalantly sprawled across her neighbour's sofa, eyes fixated on the interesting new celebrity gossip show that hooked her attention to the TV.

Luka entered her living room from the kitchen with a beer can in one hand and a cup of coffee in the other. She rolled her eyes at the non-ladylike blonde and passed her the can.

"Ah, cheers!" she swiftly took the can, snapped it open and guzzled the cold beverage before letting out a loud burp, smiling as if it was something to be proud of. Luka grimaced and clicked her tongue, "Have some manners will you?" she whined. She wished her friend would have at least some refinement about herself but she'd known Lily since high school and had learnt to deal with her ungraceful behaviour as a woman.

"Anyway, I went to the cafe" the pinkette spoke, answering the earlier question as she sat on the opposite sofa, trying to distract herself with the talk show. She found gossiping tedious and knew that most of the things the media said about celebrities was untrue.

Lily raised an eyebrow, "On your own? Why?".

Luka really didn't want to tell Lily what she was doing, because she was a tad nosy and had a habit of always blowing things out of proportion.

She silently exhaled, contemplating how to answer without finding a way around it.

"I wasn't on my own. I met up with a friend". She hoped dearly she wouldn't press further, but alas, she did.

"A friend? Who? Do I know 'em?"

"Well, no...I only met her today" the pinkette continued, smiling innocently.

"Ah!" Lily sat up in response, suddenly intrigued and she wiggled her eyebrows up and down, "... _her_ , hm?" she particularly exaggerated 'her', knowing full well the kind of response she'd receive.

Luka sighed and put her elbow on the armrest of the sofa with her fingers pressed against her temples, ever so slightly rubbing. _Here we go again_...

"It's not like that Lily..." she huffed.

"Ooh! Are ya sure? You seemed pretty chirpy when you said you were her 'friend'", her grin was unbearable and the pinkette turned her head back to the TV.

"Like I said...she's just a friend" Luka flatly responded.

Lily seemed somewhat unconvinced that there was absolutely nothing so thought she'd try and go around the rock to see what could be dug up.

"Hm, ok, so..." she began and Luka slowly diverted back to Lily, slightly worried as to what she would say next. "What's her name?".

The pinkette was unsure if she should tell her or not but thought there'd be no harm. Even though she lives across the road from their apartment building, there's no way she'd know her...right? She was rather dubious of the blonde interest.

"Miku...Miku Hatsune..."

"My god! Are you kidding me? _Seriously_? Miku?! I mean, yeah she's attractive an' all but _really_?...she's not the type I thought you'd go for..."

Luka's cheeks instantly flared. _Crap!_ At first she panicked, and then she felt somewhat insulted at Lily's remark.

"How do you know her? And what do you mean by ' _not the type I'd go for'_?"

"We just regularly pass each other, y'know...cause we're neighbours an' all. And by that, I meant she's..." Lily huffed and scratched the back of her head, trying her ultimate best to word herself politely about the girl, Luka deepened her gaze, curious as to what Lily had to say about the tealette.

"...it's just that she's...real small..."

Luka blinked. "Huh? She's not that much shorter that me?"

"No, no, no...I mean she's _small!_ " she exaggerated the last word, placing her hands on her own D cup breasts and Luka's blush flared. "I thought you were into the big ones!" Lily snickered.

"That doesn't matter to me!" the pinkette barked, "Anyway, it's not like she's completely flat..." she tried justifying to herself, but she truly didn't care.

The blonde threw her hands in the air in exaggerated defeat, "Alright, alright!".

The cheery atmosphere slightly dulled, along with Lily's expression which didn't go unnoticed by the pink-haired host.

"Say, Luka...", Lily now toyed with the empty can in her hands.

"Hmm?"

"Don't get attached too quickly this time, yeah?"

Lily had her flaws, but she genuinely cared about Luka and it worried her to see her become so interested in another woman so quickly. The last time it happened, Luka had her heart broken and Lily was there to pick up the pieces. Luka was always the cool, calm and composed type, so seeing her shattered like that just didn't feel right to Lily.

"I told you Lily...she's just a friend".

 **Continued in Ch. 6**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Sunday couldn't have come quick enough for the tealette, she had awoken joyously, already showered and now picking out her outfit to see Luka for the second time. It was already 12:15 and pnic mode had set in.

' _What should I wear!? What should I wear!?'. Sh_ e'd practically emptied her wardrobe looking for the perfect outfit. She was aiming for cute, yet casual so as not to look too over or underdressed for the meet-up. Even though she'd only met Luka two days previous, she felt this overwhelming desire to please her in both appearance and personality, something she'd never experienced with anyone before; even her mother.

Time was quickly ticking by and the tealette opted for a white dress that frilled at the bottom, falling just above the knee. It had thin straps and a teal silk ribbon that wrapped around her slim waist, tied neatly by a bow that sat on her left hand side. Her shoes were ballerina styled white flats with a matching teal silk tie that reached halfway up her strapping calves. This outfit was specifically bought for summer outings, so it suited the occasion perfectly. Glancing at her silver wristwatch, it noted that the time was now 12:25. Miku gasped, grabbed her white shoulder purse and ran out the door. There was no need to bid her mother farewell; she was at work after all. She absolutely didn't want to be late; Miku liked to be punctual and didn't want Luka to think of her as otherwise.

She power walked her way to the park, on arrival the time was now 12:45. At least now she could take a quick breather, so she took a seat on the bench.

The summer breeze cooled her warm skin and she felt her heart-rate finally slow to a steady beat. The park wasn't huge, only possessing a double swing-set, a slide, and small climbing frame. Maybe that's why it was empty, it made Miku wonder to herself why Luka asked to meet in such a peculiar location. The cafe was only down the road, why not meet back there? Her mind wondered whilst she waited patiently, when she heard a beautiful, serene voice from her left, snapping her out of her thoughts,

"You're early, Miku...", the tealette slightly turned her head, her legs forced her to stand in a suddenly harsh movement. Her breathe was caught in her throat, ' _So beautiful...'_ she thought. The pink haired woman was captivating, though her attire to simple, she still looked ridiculously stunning in the younger womans eyes. She wore light, faded blue skinny jeans that outlined her wonderfully long, womanly legs, and a white strapped vest top with a see-through sleeveless, collared pink blouse on top. Her skin radiated in the sunlight and her bright blue eyes glistened like a moonlit pool.

"Miku? Miku..."

The tealette shook her head, realizing she was staring, "Ah...um...sorry, Luka...what was that?" she asked, rather embarrassed she had completely ignored Luka by letting her herself become distracted by her body.

The pinkette chuckled to herself, noticing the not-so-discreet staring, "I said, you look so cute!". Miku's face turned scarlet red.

' _How could she say something like that so casually?!',_ nevertheless, Miku loved the compliment, she had ultimately worn it to please Luka anyway and she couldn't help but return her kind words.

"Y-you too...look very...you look..." Miku couldn't quite find the right word to both explain how downright stunning this woman looked, and not seem like a creep at the same time. She had to mentally remind herself that this was only their second meeting; they were still merely acquaintances, though she hoped that by the end of the day, Luka would think of her as a friend, at least.

"...beautiful", she finally managed to finish. Luka's cheek tainted with a pink hue, she loved to compliment the tealette but she sure didn't expect anything back, not as something as...emotive...as it had been put either. She suddenly felt blissful and couldn't control herself as her arms snaked their way around Miku's delicate body. She gently pulled her into a soft embrace which took Miku by surprise.

"Thank you" the pinkette whispered, a smile gracing her lips. Miku had never been embraced so intimately, the contact was so foreign to her, she didn't know what to do. At first she could only remain stiff, her arms stuck to her sides, but as she felt Luka slowly release her, seemingly concerned about Miku's reluctance to accept the gesture, she suddenly decided that she didn't want it to end and quickly melted into the older woman's body. Her own arms shyly encompassing the curvy body around her. Miku loved it. She wanted this to last forever. Everything was just too good, the warmth, the genuine kindness behind the action, Luka's sweet perfume, her soft, supple skin resting against Miku's own. The tealette closed her eyes for a few seconds, enjoying this rare feeling. She didn't know when she'd feel like this again.

When Luka took the opportunity to touch Miku in an innocent hug, she couldn't resist. She was just too adorable. However, when she closed in on the younger woman, she didn't react. Luka realised she could have been taken aback, scared or maybe even disgusted by the sudden embrace so she reluctantly began to remove herself when she felt small and tender arms wrap themselves around her waist and pull her back in. The pinkette silently exhaled in relief, thankful that she now wanted to return the hug.

A few seconds passed and they mutually separated and exchanged sweet smiles. Luka was once again hit with that fluttering feeling in her stomach when she saw the tealette present her with a beatific smile. She adored the way she closed her eyes, her nose cutely scrunching up to reveal dazzling white teeth that only made her plump pink lips stand out from the rest of her beautiful face, Miku's smile only served to make Luka smile even wider.

"So...where would you like to go?" Miku broke the comfortable silence, hoping dearly that Luka had something planned. Although, she noted that she'd be equally happy just sitting and talking to her for hours again.

"Ah, well, I hadn't really thought this far ahead, I just really wanted to see you again..." Luka replied with a playful wink, earning herself a beet-red Miku, causing her to chuckle lightly before continuing;

"If you'd like, we can grab some lunch at a restaurant round the corner from here? I haven't been before, so I don't know what it's like though..."

"O-of course! I'd love to!" Miku exclaimed, rather excited to have another opportunity to get to know the pinkette.

"Great! Let's go then"

 **XXXXXXXXXX**

Luka sat examining the menu, whilst Miku sat on the opposite side of the booth. She seemed to be intently scrutinizing the pinkettes features whilst attempting to keep it discreet by hovering the menu so it hid her own face, just below her teal eyes. Though, every time Luka seemed to glance over, Miku would divert her gaze onto the list of dishes, concentrating way too hard for Luka not to notice.

"Do you know what you're having?" Luka inquired, causing the tealette to jump in her seat and muffle a squeal with her hand. The pinkette grinned, knowing full well what the younger woman was doing the entire time. She turned her head to the waitress that seemed to appear out of nowhere.

"Ah! I'll have the chicken salad with extra leek and oolong tea please!"

Luka raised an eyebrow in surprise, _'So...she like's leeks...hm...',_ wait _..._

"Tea with salad?", ' _how curious...'_

Miku grinned, "...just a craving...".

"And you, miss?" the waitress turned to Luka, notepad at hand, "I'll have the tuna sushi roll please, oh! and oolong tea for me too please" Miku stared questioningly at Luka, to which she responded; "I thought I'd try it with sushi for the first time". The tealette made an 'o' with her mouth and leant back against the sofa of the booth as their waitress hurried back towards the restaurant kitchen.

"So..." Luka began, causing the tealette to bring herself towards the table, closing the distance between the two. "Tell me more about yourself...".

Miku was a little lost for words, she'd never been asked such a question, no-one cared to know, let alone ask her about herself. Just thinking about herself made her realize how simple and uninteresting her life was. Why would she want to drag Luka into it?

"Er...um... ... hm..."

Luka patiently waited for Miku to gather her thoughts but her cutely worrisome face bothered her immensely. Maybe that was a bit too straightforward...

"Ok, how about we exchange questions and answers...take turns, hm?"

Luka's gentle eyes made Miku feel weak in the knees, she knew if she was standing she would've been forced to sit down anyway. The tealette gulped, racking her brains for questions she wanted to ask Luka and mentally preparing herself to answer any she would receive. There was one particular burning question she wanted an answer to but really couldn't bring herself to ask.

Miku sharply inhaled. Luka thought she'd be better off giving her a little push and starting the questioning off for her, "Tell me what you like to do in your free time, the things you like?" Luka truly wanted to know, because she'd take a mental note to use them to her advantage sometime.

Ah, an easy question..."I absolutely love leeks" the tealette blurted out and Luka was rather startled at her outburst. It was the most confident she'd seen her, she decided that she loved seeing that look on Miku's face – even if it was for a few short seconds- and that she'd do everything in her power to keep her like that.

Miku must've realized her excitement and quickly simmered down, "sorry", she sheepishly grinned. Luka hated seeing her revert back into the nervous state, "No, no! Don't be! Tell me more!" she was genuinely eager to learn more about the young woman and lightly took Miku's hand that was resting on the table in an attempt to give her that little push to continue.

Miku suddenly felt a soft warmth envelop her hand. She looked down to see her fingers intertwined with Luka's and couldn't take her eyes from them. It gave her a nice feeling inside and she felt heat rise to her cheeks. Luka really sounded interested in her and it encouraged her to go on.

"Well, I spend most of my free time reading but I also love music. It's my favourite subject at school and I think I may just want to work towards it as a career, but...I'm probably not good enough..."

Luka's eyes lit up at the mention of music but when Miku started berating herself it irked her. It made her remember everything about their last meeting: how Miku couldn't take a compliment, how she questioned her as to why she wanted to spend more time with her, how she had bruising on her wrists and how she easily avoided many topics that she didn't want to talk about. _'Come to think of it...'_ the pinkette was hit with the hurtful realization as the memory flooded back. Her eyes reluctantly followed her other arm down to where her free hand rested on the table. Her beautifully petite wrist was still coated in the sickeningly dark bruise it made Luka's stomach feel like lead just looking at it.

 _'_ _What on earth has happened to this sweet girl to think so lowly of herself...to behave so submissively and so...cautiously, around people...she's so kind, yet so scared...'_

Luka loved her sweet voice, she was so confident that Miku was a fantastic singer, and she wanted so desperately for the younger woman to feel the same way.

"Don't ever doubt yourself Miku!" Luka pleaded, the tealettes sullen expression was replaced by a shocked one, "If your singing voice is as beautiful as your talking voice, then I bet you have the best voice I've ever heard!" the pinkette exclaimed, rather shocked with her own sudden outburst. Miku's face was bright red and she suddenly felt hot all over. She wasn't going to argue with the pinkette, not after that emotive flare. She instead decided to unconvincingly accept the compliment wide eyed, "Th-thanks, Luka...".

The older woman didn't seem satisfied yet, "Can you sing for me some time?".

Miku gawked at her incredulously, "Seriously?" she mumbled.

"Of course! I am an avid lover of music too, I study at Crypton and I-"

"You study at _Crypton University_!? That's, like... _the_ best place to study music, in the country!"

Luka fell silent, ' _She's like a different person when we talk about music'._

The pinkette clarified, "Yes, and I _know_ you'll be accepted there if you ever decided on it". A charming smile graced her lips and Miku was smitten with both her kind words and soft but alluring features, she sunk into her seat and smiled to herself, thinking about the shower of compliments Luka presented her with, following by the downpour of emotions that she triggered within Miku.

"Hm? What is it?" Luka leaned towards Miku over the table with a cheeky grin and eyebrows raised.

The tealette tightened her grip onto their still joined hands, "It's just...you really are an amazing person Luka...".

Her heart was pierced by an arrow and heat flooded to her cheeks. If there wasn't a table between them Luka would have surely dragged the young girl into a loving embrace and she practically scowled at the table for the forced distance.

"Thank you, but, I'm really not anything special" she scratched her cheek, hoping the subject would change. She never really like talking about herself.

"Now look who doubts themselves..." Miku smirked and a playful gleam invaded her bright teal eyes. The pinkette had to keep herself in check, she was used to seeing a submissive and shy Miku, but this one, with the mischievous look shimmering in her beautiful eyes made her look so seductive. It was so odd to see Miku take charge, even though they hadn't known each other for long they were already comfortable with one another. Somewhat like they skipped a few stages of friendship.

"Anyway, now I told you what I like, what about you?" Miku asked.

"Well, obviously apart from music, I love tuna, shopping can be fun most of the time but when my time isn't spent studying I'm usually spending time with friends".

"You live in the new apartment block across the road from me don't you? Do you live alone?"

"Yes I do, my mother lives abroad but I enjoy it. It's never lonely with Lily around anyway". The pinkette chuckled as flashbacks of Lily inviting herself over flooded into her mind.

"What about you? You live with your mother don't you?" Luka asked, though, she was surprised to see Miku's happy expression slightly fade at the mention of her mother.

Miku had instantly regretted asking Luka about her home life, she didn't foresee the question being swung back around on her; otherwise she wouldn't have brought it up.

"Yeah...I live with my mother...". Miku really didn't want to talk about home with Luka, up until now, she had made the tealette forget about everything and everyone else.

Luka could see the apparent discomfort in the tealettes eyes, and she once again took note of another topic that Miku clearly wanted to avoid. She reminded herself to bring all these issues back up when she felt comfortable enough to open up to Luka. The now awkward silence was thankfully broken by the waitress approaching their table with their lunch which they readily dug into.

Luka saw a wild gleam in the tealettes eyes as she gulped down spoonful after spoonful of leeks, the girl said she _loved_ them but...

She internally giggled then a wonderfully devious idea; "This sushi is delicious! You have to try some, here...".

Before Miku could react, Luka had picked up a piece of sushi and already held it out for Miku so eat from her own chopsticks.

 _'_ _She wants to feed me!_ ' the tealette wanted to scream but she kept her cool and decided to go along with it, afterall, Luka seemed pretty casual about it. The younger woman opened wide and leant forward, her mouth instantly filled with the lovely taste of raw fish and rice.

Luka stared intently at the tealette as she leant forwards with her eyes closed and very, very slowly, she locked her lips onto her chopsticks and pulled gently away as Luka's eyes followed her every move. _'So beautiful'_ she thought.

Miku held back a light blush by concentrating on the delightful taste of the sushi, "It really is good" she smiled and thanked Luka for the generous offer.

Luka knew what was happening. She recognized the fluttering feeling in her stomach, the light haze in her head. She remembered Lily's warning; _"Don't get attached too quickly this time"._ She couldn't help it, the more she talked to the tealette, the more she saw her smile, and the more she slowly began to accept her feelings. It was an endless cycle that only continued to get stronger. Miku seemed too fragile though, she didn't seem like she'd be like _that_...like Luka...but she could only hope...

 **Continued in Ch. 7**


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

Fumbling with her keys, Miku unlocked the door to her home and set her shoes in the cupboard. She sighed, feeling euphoric. Today had been enjoyable, the best day she'd had for as long as she could remember. She was completely oblivious to the wide smile that spread across her face until the ache in her cheeks alerted her to her own giddiness.

She looked at the time, 6:37pm...oh dear...

Miku gingerly stepped into the living room, only to find it empty along with the kitchen.

"Mother?" she politely called out but was not met with a response. It could only mean that she had left for work earlier than usual. Miku exhaled deeply in relief. At least, tonight, she would be safe from another scolding for being home late.

She climbed up the stairs and ran herself a bath, re-living the day with Luka over and over in her head. After their wonderful meal at the restaurant, they had gone for a walk, then sat and talked for hours by the riverside. The whole time was spent getting to know one another better and the more she spoke with Luka, the more she found herself leaving her world of pain and misery. That was, until her blessed moments with the pinkette had to draw to an end. It felt somehow painful to part ways with her. Miku couldn't quite place the emotion. It wasn't an upsetting feeling like you have when you leave a relative for a few days, but for of a longing...a desire, to be with that person. It seemed she found herself confused over her own feelings.

 _'_ _I wonder how Luka feels about me?'_ she questioned herself.

The bath had filled and she stepped into the hot water. The tealette closed her eyes and sunk lower so the water came up to her neck. The warmth reminded her of Luka's kind and gentle embrace and she once again found herself smiling.

The wonderful bliss soon melted away as the evening passed. Reality sadly reminded her it was only a meeting between friends. Luka was an exceptionally attractive woman whom must have everyone -male and female- fawning all over her. Why would she want a scrawny, uninteresting, childish low-life like herself?

Everything seemed to spiral down from that little moment. Everything was different again, back to the way it was. She hadn't arranged another meeting with Luka, maybe the pinkette didn't want to waste any more of her precious time with someone as insignificant like Miku? Maybe she was just something to pass the time?

She shook her head to get rid of the awful thoughts. She prayed that Luka just forgot to arrange more time to spend with her, she was a University student afterall, maybe she was just busy? Although...it was half term for everyone. The tealette's fragile mind continued to rally to and from horrible thoughts and excuses, trying to convince herself that maybe Luka did like her, she just didn't have a strong longing to spend all her time with her like Miku did.

In the end, Miku couldn't handle the stress of the 'what if's' and decided to call it a night. She'd had a splendid day; and she hoped Luka did too. She didn't want to end it on a bad note, torturing herself with the endless mind games.

 **XXXXXXXXXX**

"So, how'd it go?" Lily inquired with her feet up on Luka's coffee table and a beer in one hand. Luka entered her living room and clicked her tongue,

"What did I say about putting your feet on my furniture?" she scolded.

Lily sheepishly laughed and removed them, "Sorry, sorry. Anyway, answer me..." she persisted.

"Well, we went to that new restaurant that opened down the road? You know the one right?", she was responded with a firm nod from the blonde,

"...well, we had lunch there...we talked about ourselves, she is a high school student at our old school, she loves music and loves to sing,", Luka couldn't help but become enthusiastic at recalling everything about the teal haired girl. "She has a thing for leeks, oh...I had this delicious sushi dish and I fed her some, then we went f-". Her story was quickly interrupted by the rowdy blonde.

"Woah! Woah! Woah...", she stopped Luka who met her with a quizzical look and a tilted head, waiting for her friend to continue.

"You _fed_ her?", she repeated incredulously.

"Yes, I did", Luka matter-of-factly replied as if it were normal to do with a friend the first time you go out.

"You FED her?" Lily emphasized a little louder. "Luka! Didn't I say to take things slow!", she reached to grab a chunk of hair on either side of her head in exasperation.

"Calm down Lily! It's not like we did anything, I just let her try some of my sushi..." she tried to assure her, but to no avail.

"No, it's not like you did anything, but with you, that IS something, Luka!"

The pinkette scoffed, "So what if I meant something by it? She's not like us anyway! It's not like she knew what I was thinking...".

The blonde sighed, feeling like she couldn't counter Luka, she shook her head.

"Just...please, _please_ be careful. OK?" her eyes were serious though her tone was pleading. Luka responded with a faint nod, acknowledging her friends concerns.

"...anyway, like I was saying, we went for a walk together, then sat by the river bank. We spoke for so long neither of us realized how late it had gotten...". She chuckled, remembering the cute and panicked face of her little teal friend when she saw the time.

She sighed in bliss at the memories like they happened long ago, though it only occurred and hour or so ago. Her cheerful aura along with her gentle smile slowly faded when she realized that she didn't know when they'd meet again.

"'Sup?" Lily asked in a casual tone, sipping at her beer.

"It's just...we forgot to arrange to meet again..." she solemnly replied.

Lily waved her hand to dismiss her worries, "Ah, don't worry 'bout that, she lives across the road dummy!".

Luka frowned at her, "Are you tipsy?" she questioned even though she knew the answer.

Lily sleazily grinned, "Mm'yeah...", Lily chuckled, with no hint of shame.

"It's getting late, you should go".

The blonde set aside her empty can and rested her legs up on the couch, "Nah, I'm quite comfy here" she insisted as she closed her eyes in a way that told Luka she had no intention of leaving. The pinkette rolled her eyes and disappeared into another room. Lily cracked her eyes open to take a peek at where she'd gone but something warm and fluffy was harshly thrown in her face, "OOMF!" she muffled through the blanket.

"Night". Luka said bluntly. Lily chuckled and covered herself to go to sleep, "G'night, Lulu!".

"I said don't call me that!" she heard an angry yell from the pinkette's bedroom and she snorted into the blanket.

 **Continued in Ch. 8**


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

Monday morning and the first day of half term; Miku was spending her morning making a large breakfast to make up for the dinner she skipped last night after a large and fulfilling lunch. Had her mother been home, she probably would have been scorned for using the bacon as it was deemed 'expensive' but Miku knew it was simply because her mother didn;t want to spend money on more food than necessary when alcohol equally filled her stomach.

She subconsciously sang a sweet tune as the meat fried and the thought occurred to her that she would possibly be ok with giving Luka a little insight to her voice. If it made the pinkette happy, Miku would do it, just to see her smile at the end of it.

The tealette enjoyed the rare moment of a full English breakfast in peace. It seemed times like these really were a luxury for her. Although she disliked spending long periods on her own, she knew it was better than having the wrong company. Her mother's in specific. She hated feeling that way about her though, she did love her, but her mother just made it difficult to feel any other way about her.

Her blissful moment alone soon came to an end when she heard a distinctive chiming of keys just outside the front door. In a flash of panic, she shovelled in the last mouthful and put the dish and cutlery in the dishwasher out of sight.

"...Miku? Are you home?" a sickenly sweet voice hollowed through the house and the tealette peeked her head around the kitchen door.

"Yes, mother, what is it?" she asked curiously. Suddenly her hands were full of her belongings including her long thick coat, handbag and a carrier-bag full of...alcohol...

"Put that away dear" she bluntly requested. It sounded more of a demand that shouldn't be questioned though, and Miku only too quickly complied as her mother walked into the kitchen. Miku gulped, the aroma of bacon still lingered and it was obvious she'd eaten some. She was shocked to find that the older tealette left the kitchen without calling her out on it and opted to not bring it up either. If her mother asked, she'd come clean, but she wouldn't unnecessarily mention it.

The silence was somehow awkward, Miku had to break it somehow, "Did you have a good night at work?".

Her mother huffed and rolled her eyes as if she was already fed up with the young girls presence. Although subtle, Miku got the hint and meekly backed away. She supposed the only way to avoid possible yelling is to keep a safe distance and stay in her room until the older woman had gone back out or was out of her mind on booze.

As her foot reached the first step of the stairs, she was frozen on the spot by her mother calling again, "Miku! Where do you think you're going?" she asked in a strict tone. The tealette removed her foot from the step but didn't venture closer to her in the other room, only moving to peek around the doorframe.

"Um, to my room?" she answered, more of a request than a reply.

She faintly heard her mother click her tongue, "No, you're not. You're gonna make me breakfast. You had bacon and eggs right? Make me some" she snapped, already pouring herself a shot of whiskey.

Miku gulped, it was 9:20am, this was an early drink even for her. She hadn't expected things to turn out like this as soon as she came through the door. Usually Miku had time to get out the house before things turned sour. She could almost foresee how this morning greeting would unfold as she nervously informed the older woman that she had had the last of the bacon for her own breakfast.

Her mother threw back another shot of whiskey, "You what?" she snapped.

Oh dear...Oh dear...

"I- I can go out and get so-" she began shyly, hoping to calm the approaching storm but to no avail.

"I work day and night to support us and I come home to find you've eaten all the food!?" she yelled, already slightly tipsy at the strong drink.

Miku frowned, technically, there wasn't a lot of food to begin with, so using the word 'all' was a bit exaggerated. On top of that, she rarely even ate at home because this argument always ensured.

"Don't look at me like that!" she scolded, noticing Miku's furrowed eyebrows and tense expression that immediately changed to once of concern.

Miku observed as her mother gulped down a half glass of the overpoweringly strong smelling whiskey. It made her gag just watching the older tealette's face scrunch as the heat of the alcohol trailed down her throat.

"Y-ou 'lil...good 'fer nothin'...ungrateful...p-est!" she slurred as she attempted to force her words out with a shout.

Miku knew it wasn't really her saying that, but it still hurt. It didn't mean that her mother didn't mean those things, as she once told her daughter, _'a drunk man's words are a sober mans thoughts...'._

A lesson well learnt in Miku's case.

She stepped forwards to confront the older woman, "I'll get some bacon now, I'll get it now and make some for you as soon as I get back..." she pleaded as if she wanted to be forgiven for an innocent act.

Her mother hiccupped upon taking another gulp.

"Dun' bother ya 'lil brat...jus' ge' out...".

Miku's eyes squinted, trying to decipher the drunk woman's words, "I'm...I'm sorry?" she asked, requesting her to repeat herself.

She was responded with a hefty sigh, "I said, GET OUT!". The older woman bellowed so loudly it startled the poor tealette and she clkutched her chest to calm her rapidly beating heart. She cautiously stepped backwards, not understanding the seriousness of her mother's words.

"NOW!", she added.

All too quickly Miku had thrown her shoes on and left the house, still in her shorts and vest top pyjamas. Careful to mind that her emotions didn't affect how harshly she closed the door upon leaving. Tears threatened to fall as her eyes watered, but she refused to let that woman get the better of her over something so innocently stupid.

She crossed her arms, sighing as she hurriedly stepped down the front steps of her garden and suddenly bumped into something soft and warm.

"Fwuah!" she grunted, her face muffled by the object. She pulled back and her eyes focussed on the two large lumps level with her eyes. They widened at the realisation of what it actually was. Her teal orbs wandered upwards to meet with icy blue eyes, kindly staring down at her blankly.

"Oh...Miku..." the blonde smiled widely at the unexpected greeting.

A flustered tealette looked left and right to see it anyone noticed her voracious yet unintentional greeting.

"Ah, Lily-san...sorry..." she meekly apologized.

The blonde swatted her hand to dismiss her, "Don't worry about it, and just call me Lily" she requested. Miku smiled and softly nodded in acknowledgment.

The older woman eyed Miku up and down with a questioning look, "Why are you...?" she began. Miku looked at herself and gasped before using Lily's body as a shield from the world. Lily chuckled, "I didn't know you were quite the exhibitionist!" she teased, it caused Miku to blush immensely, "I'm...I'm not!" she cried in embarrassment. "I was in a hurry!" she added.

Lily dropped her playful smile, "...I know you were...", her lips curved upwards but only faintly, as if in a comforting manner.

"What? How?", Miku questioned.

Lily pursed her lips and looked away awkwardly, "I heard your mum shouting again" she sheepishly confessed. Miku's eyes dropped and she removed herself from behind Lily, holding herself.

The silence had broken the conversation and cheery atmosphere to which Lily just had to break, "Do you wanna come inside?" she kindly asked, pointing to her apartment complex.

Miku faintly smiled before nodding softly.

 **XXXXXXXXXX**

"Here ya go", Lily said, offering Miku a well needed cup of tea.

"Thank you very much", Miku responded with a wide smile. She sipped at the hot beverage and her insides melted at the delicious taste.

"It's wonderful!" the tealette beamed, "Actually...I think this is the best tea I've ever had!" she added enthusiastically.

Lily chuckled, "Really? Thanks, Luka thinks it's pretty good too".

Her eyes widened and she sipped again, "L-Luka? You know Luka?".

The blonde rested her feet up on her sofa, "Oh, yeah, you didn't know...".

Miku sat silently, waiting for her to continue, "She's an old friend and neighbour, she lives across the hall" she pointed to her front door.

Miku's mouth slightly dropped, "She is? Oh, what a coincidence..." she mumbled, still dumbfounded.

"Oh right, you're seeing each other now or something aren't ya?" she nonchalantly asked. Miku's face turned beet-red and she placed her tea down calmly.

"N-no, we aren't Lily. We just met a couple of days ago. We're just friends", the tealette felt the need to clarify to the blonde the relationship between the two before it was quickly misconceived.

Lily slightly frowned, noticing her obvious raging blush, "Oh?" she said in a playful tone, leaning closer. "But you want to be more than friends right?" she inquired.

Miku's heart pounded against her ribcage just thinking about it. She didn't know, she was so inexperienced with these kind of things that even her own emotions confused her.

"Of course not!" she falsely exclaimed. Lily smirked and shrugged away the remark, now adopting a serious expression. "Luka told me about your date, she had a lot of fun y'know?".

Miku twitched and stared intently at the blonde. "A...date? She called it...a date?" she had to confirm it before her mind went into overload.

Lily nodded casually, "Yeah, she did".

The tealettes eyes widened. That one simple confirmation had frazzled all of Miku's doubts away. Surely, that meant Luka liked her, maybe not intimately, but just to be liked by Luka as a person was good enough for her. Her heart felt light and her stomach flipped in giddiness, the feeling was still so alien but she decided she liked it. On top of that, for Lily, -apparently Luka's long time friend- to inform her that she had had as much fun as Miku did herself, only made her happier and she couldn't control the smile that spread across her features.

"You like the ring to that?" Lily teased with a grin plastered on her face. "You wanna go out with Luka?" she added. Truthfully, as much as she enjoyed teasing, she had an underlying reason for it; she wanted to find out how Miku felt about Luka before her friend had her heart crushed again.

Just as a bewildered Miku stumbled over her own words, there was a knock at the door.

"Yeah...?" Lily yelled from the sofa, no intention of getting up to answer it.

The door swung open to reveal a half-asleep pinkette with bedhead. She trumped inside with fluffy panda slippers scraping the carpet,

"Geez, why can't you open the door for your guests like a mannered woman?!" she mumbled, wiping her eyes. Upon removing her hands she noticed a certain teal sitting politely and very quietly on the other sofa. Luka blinked and looked over to Lily, dumbfounded.

"Oh, Miku...!" she greeted a little unnerved. She hadn't expected to find her here of all places. "What are you doing here?" she asked.

Lily scoffed, "Now look who's being ill-mannered!". Luka rolled her eyes, seemingly telling her she was in no position to be judging other peoples politeness.

Miku sat terrifyingly silent, hoping that Lily wouldn't mention the circumstances leading up to her arrival at the blonde's apartment. Lily caught her eyes and smiled knowingly.

"Miku here happened to run out of sugar...". Said girl rolled her eyes, ' _How cliche'_ she thought. Luka frowned at her unconvincing story but opted to ignore the reason behind Lily's obvious lie.

Miku turned to Luka, admiring her beautiful 'just woke up' form. Her messy bed-head and sparkling blue eyes made her look downright gorgeous. How could someone look so good without even trying?

Luka noticed Miku's stares and became self-conscious. "Uhm...Miku, you're staring too much" she whispered, slightly embarrassed. Miku must've thought how repulsive she was, her hair was messy from last night, her pajamas were mis-matched and wrinkled, surely she had bags under her eyes and Miku...well she looked just perfect in her revealing tank top and short shorts. Before Luka herself was caught ogling the younger girls body she decided to just accept that the tealette had seen her in a less than presentable manner and sat down next to her on the sofa.

"We are going to the cinema in a bit, would you like to join us?" Luka asked, smiling as usual. At that suggestion, Lily perked up with a devious idea.

"Oh, thank you but I wouldn't want to intrude. You're going out together anyway. It'd be rude if I third-wheeled" she politely declined.

"Nah, don't worry about it", Lily added.

"Come on, we'll let you pick the film..." Luka pleaded, wiggling her eyebrows playfully. Miku giggled, "Only if you're sure?".

"Of course" the pinkette reassured her, gently placing her hand on top of Miku's comfortably. Her fingers seemed to instinctively melt between the gaps of Miku's own fingers and she gently squeezed.

 **Continued in Ch. 9**


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

The three whittled the time away with interesting and varying conversations, never once edging into relationship topic territory. Lily sneakily guided the duo to converse in discussions that caught their mutual preferences, all of which including favourite foods, hobbies, favourite songs and so on. They even occasionally ventured into their opinions over current events, only causing Miku to lose track of time. The girls had gone through multiple beverages when the pinkette reminded the others of the time. It was almost noon, and the film started in two hours.

Miku sighed and placed her empty mug of her fourth tea onto the table in front of her. By now, she knew her mother would be passed out or so drunk she wouldn't even realize or remember her daughter skulking back into the house to make herself presentable.

Luka stood up and stretched her slender arms up and out with a slight pleasant moan as her muscles eased with the movement. Young teal-eyes met the flesh of her stomach, and she felt her stomach flip. Peeling her eyes away was difficult, but she was only forced to when Luka relaxed and her shirt fell.

"I'm going to get ready, Lily, you should to." She advised, knowing her friend would otherwise leave it to last minute. She was the only one dressed, but she'd still find some way to delay the departure. Luka turned to Miku, "We'll come pick you up when you're ready, oka-", "No!" Miku interrupted in a panic, and when she noticed the woman's confused but startled expression, she tried to save the conversation.

"I'll wait outside the apartments when I'm ready!" Having two women, older than her nonetheless, turning up at the house would not end well for Miku. There always was the possibility her mother would notice. Even having the door knock would be enough to rile the drunken woman up.

"Oh... um, okay then... just ring up and I'll let you in. I don't want you waiting outside on your own."

Lily glanced to her friend in concern, but one that was softer than previous times. Luka took note of the look and smiled assuringly, indirectly telling her it was okay. She could practically hear the woman scream ' _Slow down!_ ' in her head. It almost made herself chuckle.

Miku pursed her lips, trying to fight the cheesy grin she knew was trying to break out. For a reason unknown to her, those words made her giddy. Maybe it was because it was matched with a protective tone. Unless she was looking for something that wasn't there, something she only wanted to hear, the tealette was assured more-so that Luka felt something for her. Platonic or romantic, she didn't care. Entirely. All she hoped she knew, was that Luka cared, for her.

After a temporary goodbye, each female went to their own quarters to get ready for the afternoon out. Miku did manage to sneak back inside her house, and as predicted, her mother was asleep on the sofa with an empty bottle laid on her chest.

Despite the awful way in which their last encounter ended, the tealette still pitied her. She tip-toed to the sleeping storm and took the bottle from her, placing it quietly on the floor. Her mother slurred in her sleep, causing Miku to flinch, then freeze, waiting for her to lie still before unwrapping a nearby blanket from the closet and pulling it over the woman who still stirred.

Eventually, she had adequately dressed herself and vacated the household, doing as instructed and ringing up for Luka under the button 'Megurine'.

"Hello?" a mechanically hazy yet familiar voice answered the call.

"Um, is this Luka?" the girl asked to ensure it was who it should be, although it was hard to tell over the monitor.

"Oh, Miku! Yes, come up!" she politely instructed and the door beside her slowly slid open automatically. The call cut out and Miku stepped inside.

 **XXXXXXXXXX**

"All I'm sayin' is that you should y'know... give her a big fat hint or somethin'." The blonde insisted, pacing the hallway of the pinkette's apartment impatiently as said woman, who was so stern with Lily's timing, was panicking over what to wear to impress their last minute guest.

"Wh-ahh-t!?" Luka heaved, jumping around in an uncharacteristically, undignified manner to pull the black skinny jeans up. When she achieved her goal, she slipped on a blouse similar in colour to her hair. "Just earlier you were telling me to be careful?".

Lily subconsciously imitated her sigh, "I know that," but that was before she knew what Miku's opinion was on this entire girl on girl relationship stuff. Although the girl hadn't given Lily a clear and concise personal review, she knew enough to know that she felt something for her dear friend Luka.

"I just meant maybe you should do this right, if you're gonna ignore my warnings and go ahead and chase her anyway."

"Oh, apologies _mother,_ but I'm a grown woman, I'll do what I like." The pinkette muttered.

Lily rolled her eyes and clicked her tongue, something she was usually on the receiving end of.

There was a knock on the door, and Luka gasped, immediately retreating to the safety of her bedroom walls.

"Oh, _I'll_ get it!" Lily shook her head, resisting the urge to laugh at her friends unusual behaviour.

"Thanks!" the woman cheerily shot back.

Moments later, the pinkette could hear welcoming exchanges between her friend and her... um, other friend from behind her closed bedroom door. She inspected her attire and smoothed out non-existing crinkles. Breathing deeply whilst silently judging herself, she couldn't help but worry over her appearance when she was with Miku. She'd been caught out this morning, so she felt the need to make up for it. Although it was a simple get-together, she hoped to make Miku fawn over her. She wanted to make Miku hers, one way or another. _One day at a time_ , she told herself. In a sense, Lily was right; she was falling too fast. It was how the chemicals in her system made her react when she liked a woman. But what Lily didn't know, is that Luka felt different to the others. It wasn't just lust, it felt like something deeper. Something... _real_.

When she emerged after minutes of poking and preening herself, she met with a blonde slouching over her couch, and the teal-haired girl sitting politely and awkwardly on the edge of her sofa. She noted the stiff way in which she sat, unlike the more relaxed way she behaved at Lily's apartment. The pinkette hoped she could get Miku like that around her soon, and her inner voice assured her it was simply because she knew Lily a lot longer, nothing more.

"Are you ready yet?" Lily interrupted just as Luka opened her mouth to naturally compliment her interest in her choice of clothes, or hair, or her eyes, anything really. She liked everything she could see.

"Uh, hello!?"

"Oh!" Luka jumped, dragging her eyes from a blushing Miku to her friend, "Yes! Yes I'm ready!". The tealette tried not to giggle, seeing a cute, distracted side of the normally composed woman was awfully nice. Lily _had_ told her she wasn't always so refined, so it was nice to see first-hand with her own eyes.

 **XXXXXXXXXX**

The short distance from Luka's apartment to her car in the parking lot a few flights was a little awkward, to only Luka's and Miku's surprise. Lily, at the entire last minute, had pulled out because she was feeling 'sick'. But Luka knew far better.

When they sat in the car, Luka started the engine whilst Miku buckled herself beside her, but the seatbelt was jammed. Each time she pulled, the more it stubbornly refused to release. Each tug and the shorter it infuriatingly became. Luka watched in amused silence before a confused and slightly embarrassed Miku stopped trying and looked to her friend pleadingly. No words were needed when the older woman tilted her head adoringly at the girls frustration. She leaned over Miku, who pushed herself as far back into the seat as possible. Whilst the pinkette aided her, Miku's head was growing light and dizzy.

 _She smells so good... she's so close..._ All such thoughts washed over her as the woman made little to no proximity between them. Miku's eyes followed the dangling of the silver necklace, hovering freely above her chest, and just past the jewellery, was the soft looking flesh of her breasts that were in fact respectably covered, yet revealed enough through a low buttoned blouse. The tealette inhaled a shaky breath, she felt the warmth emanating from Luka, smelt her perfume, felt every little movement, bit her lip at every little bit of skin she visually ate up. When she deed was done, Luka ensured she 'accidentally' brushed the girl with her body as she pulled away, barely managing to catch a faint and delicious squeak.

"There we go, all buckled." She chimed and locked her own, gripping the wheel.

Miku looked flushed, and sat rigid, clutching the edge of her seat with both hands.

Luka grinned, grateful she knew she clearly had some form of an effect of her companion.

"So, decided what you want to watch yet?"

 **Continued in Chapter 10**


End file.
